Monthly Night Sky Report: February 2024

            Introduction

    January proved to be an excellent month for stargazing if the clouds and stormy weather were not interfering. I was able to watch the occultation of Antares by the Moon, watch Venus sink closer to the eastern horizon throughout the month, see Jupiter climb higher in the sky each evening, and see constellations trek across our celestial sphere. Unfortunately, I missed Mercury and Mars's rare and great conjunction this month. 

     February will offer a few out-of-the-ordinary events that stargazers should try to see. There will be a chance to view a few different comets this month; the most notable is Pons-Brooks, which may reach unaided-eye visibility later this year. A conjunction will occur between Mars and Venus near the end of the month. Saturn will reach conjunction with the Sun. Neptune and Uranus will be visible most of the night but require a pair of binoculars to observe. The zodiacal light will be visible above the western horizon during the month after sunset. 

             

Mercury

    Mercury had a recent conjunction with the Red Planet and will soon sink below the eastern horizon as it reaches superior conjunction with the Sun. However, on February 1st, observers can spot brilliant Venus, Mercury, and dim Mars spanning about 15° across the eastern horizon. A few short days later, Mercury will be too close to our star to be seen. Mercury will reach superior conjunction with the Sun on the 28th.   

  

Venus

    Venus will be easy to spot during the first few weeks of February as it shines brightly above the eastern horizon before sunrise. As the month marches on, our sister planet will sink closer to the horizon as it nears conjunction with the Sun. Before this happens, Venus will be one in a pair of objects that may be the month's highlight. Before sunrise on the 22nd, observers can see a conjunction between Mars and Venus. This pair of planets will be less than 1° apart from our Earthly perspective. Observers may watch these planets converge on one another in the days leading up to their conjunction. Venus will fall closer to the eastern horizon as it approaches the Sun, while Mars rises earlier above the same horizon as it attempts to move away from our star. The Moon will join Venus in the sky on the 7th when the pair can be found just 5° apart.  

    

Mars

    Mars returned to the morning sky in January and will continue to reside above the eastern horizon before sunrise for the next several months. The Red Planet will attempt to, and succeed, to pull away from the Sun from our vantage point, but the process will be a slow one. An observer can watch Mars rise earlier each morning as Venus rises later until the pair meet in the sky on the 22nd. Mars may be hard to spot next to brilliant Venus, but a pair of binoculars or a telescope should help resolve this pair of planets. The nearly New Moon will join Mars in the sky on the 8th when the pair can be found just 4° apart.        

Jupiter

Saturn

          Jupiter will be visible throughout February in the evening sky. It shines brightly and should be easy to spot in the southwest. Jupiter offers great views of the four Galilean Moons as they dance around the large planet. Jupiter will also show off its cloud bands and Great Red Spot to telescope observers. The Moon will join this king of the planets on the 15th when the pair will be just 3° apart.

    Saturn will have a short life during February. Its dim glow and proximity to the Sun will cause it to be lost from view by the second week of the month. Interested observers should view the ringed planet on the 1st as it will be visible for the longest amount of time, approximately 45 minutes before it sinks below the horizon. A one-day-old Moon will join Saturn in the sky on the 10th, likely making this the last opportunity to view this planet until late March. Saturn and the Sun will be in conjunction on the 28th.   

   

       

Neptune

Uranus

    

    The two ice giants will be visible throughout most of the night during February. They can be viewed through binoculars but will look their best through a telescope. Uranus is currently about twenty times the distance from the Earth as the Earth is from the Sun. This greenish-blue planet can be seen floating in the sky less than 15° to the southwest of the Pleiades, which is a spectacular object to be viewed through binoculars. Midway through February, a First Quarter Moon will be just 3° away from Uranus. This planet will reside within the boundary of Aries the Ram throughout the month. 

    Neptune lags behind Saturn and will best be viewed in early February. This blue planet will be found in Pisces, the Fish during the month. The nearly New Moon can be found less than a degree below Neptune on the 12th, helping observers locate this most distant world.    

Comets and the Zodiacal Light

     February lacks a major meteor shower but will offer observers the opportunity to view a few different comets. The first is Pons-Brooks, which can be found above Cygnus the Swan, heading towards Pegasus during the first few nights of the month. During this time, Pons-Brooks will glow at a dim magnitude averaging about 9.0. As the month continues, Pons-Brooks will brighten and end the month at an expected magnitude of 7.38, just below the belly of Pegasus. A pair of binoculars will be required to view this comet. It is expected that Pons-Brooks will brighten to within unaided-eye visibility in March.

    The next comet is Kushida, which will require a larger telescope, at least an 8-inch, to view due to its low magnitude. A properly equipped observer can find this comet passing through the Hyades star cluster in Taurus the Bull, near Orion. On the 9th and 10th of February, Kushida will be found near Aldebaran, the red eye of Taurus. 

    The next comet, Tsuchinshan, will need a 4-inch telescope to view during the first week of February; afterwards, it will fade and require a larger telescope. Tsuchinshan can be seen passing through Virgo and will best be viewed near midnight as it will be higher above the eastern horizon.

    The final comet in this list, the brightest of the ones mentioned, is C/2021 S3 (PanSTARRS). This comet will shine at magnitude 7 and be visible in the early morning sky. C/2021 S3 can be found near Antares. As with all comets, their brightness is unpredictable. I recommend using a star chart or a favorite stargazing app, such as Stellarium, to find the specific comet on the night of observation. 

    February is also a great month for viewing the Zodiacal Light. This light is created by sunlight being reflected off of debris that litters the ecliptic, or path of the planets, in the night sky. A dark sky site is required, and a high elevation will also increase the chance to view the Zodiacal Light. I viewed this phenomenon in 2023 and plan to share images I captured in a future post.    

Monthly Breakdown

February 02: Last Quarter Moon🌗
February 04: Moon passes within 1° of Antares 
February 07: Moon passes within 5° of Venus
February 08: Moon passes within 4° of Mars 
February 09: New Moon 🌑
February 10: Moon passes within 2° of Saturn
February 12: Moon passes within 1° of Neptune
February 15: Moon passes within 3° of Jupiter
February 15: Moon passes within 3° of Uranus
February 16: First Quarter Moon 🌓
February 22: Venus and Mars conjunction
February 24: Full Moon 🌕 
February 28: Mercury reaches superior conjunction

February 28: Saturn reaches conjunction with the Sun 

         

Now get outside and look up!

Planet images were taken by NASA.

Andrew vs. the Cosmos image was taken by Jeff Greenland.

The Milky Way and Trees image was taken by Andrew Greenland.

Orion, Taurus, and Pleiades image was taken by Andrew Greenland.

    

Midmonth Check-In: January 2024 and Mars

 Introduction and Monthly Reminders   

    The first half of January brought cold temperatures and snow storms to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah. Typically, these storms seem to overlap with the best stargazing opportunities of the month. This was the case for the Quadrantid Meteor Shower, but I could see the Moon pass in front of and block Antares from view. Unfortunately, the clouds started to roll in, and I could not see this bright star emerge from the other side. Despite the storms, Jupiter and Saturn could still be seen during the clear evenings, and Venus could be seen with Orion in the cloud-free morning sky. 

    The next big stargazing event will occur shortly before sunrise on the 27th. On this date, a conjunction between Mercury and Mars will occur. Mercury should be easy to spot, but an optical aid such as a pair of binoculars or a telescope will be required to spot Mars. Aside from this rare conjunction, the Moon will pass close by each outer planet in turn, excluding Mars, from the 14th through the 19th. Comet Pons-Brooks may also be seen passing through Cygnus the Swan but will require binoculars or a telescope to spot. This comet is expected to brighten through April and may reach unaided-eye visibility. If an observer wants to spot Pons-Brooks now, use a stargazing app to find its precise location for the desired observation date.    

Mars

    My next solar system topic will be on Mars, the Red Planet. Mars is currently not at its best for observations from the Earth, but it is one of the most studied objects in the solar system and is the only planet to which NASA has sent rovers. Based on the information gleaned from these missions, it has been determined that Mars once had a warmer and wetter surface with a much thicker atmosphere. Scientists do not expect to find any living organisms on Mars, but they are looking for previous signs of life on the planet. Before discussing more about missions, let's go back to the beginning.

    Mars formed about 4.5 billion years ago with the rest of the solar system and has a solid crust, rocky mantle, and central core like the other inner rocky planets. The Red Planet orbits the Sun at an average distance of 1.5 AU or 142 million miles, compared to Earth's distance of 1 AU or 93 million miles. Mars is about half the size of the Earth. Mars is named after the Roman god of war and gets its red color from iron minerals on its surface that oxidize. 

    Even though Mars is only half the size of the Earth, it still has some incredible features. Mars has the largest and deepest known canyon in the solar system, called Valles Marineris. This canyon is more than 3000 miles long which would stretch from California to New York. Valles Marineris is over 200 miles at its widest and about 4.5 miles at its deepest point. The Grand Canyon is about the size of one of the fissures of Valles Marineris. Mars is also home to the largest known volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. This volcano is over three times taller than Mount Everest and has a base about the size of New Mexico. With a modest-sized telescope, both of these features can be seen from Earth.       

    Mars has two small moons, which may be captured asteroids. Both moons are shaped like potatoes due to their small size and lack of gravity, which is needed to create spherical objects naturally. Phobos, the largest and closest moon to Mars, is slowly getting closer to the planet's surface. It is estimated that Phobos will crash into the Red Planet in about 50 million years. The smaller and further out moon, Deimos, orbits Mars at about two and half times the distance as Phobos. Deimos and Phobos get their names from the horses that pulled the chariot of the Greek god of war, Ares.       

    The Red Planet's day is similar in length to a day on Earth. Mars takes 24.6 hours to complete one revolution about its axis, whereas the Earth takes 23.9 hours. A day on Mars is called a "sol" instead of a day. A Martian year is comprised of 669 sols or approximately 687 Earth days. Mars has a tilt similar to that of the Earth. Due to this tilt, Mars experiences seasons like the Earth, but unlike Earth, the seasons vary in length. The longest season on Mars is spring in the northern hemisphere (autumn in the southern hemisphere), while the shortest season is autumn in the northern hemisphere (spring in the southern hemisphere). This inconsistency is due to a more elliptical, or egg-shaped, orbit around the Sun.

    As previously mentioned, there have been many missions to Mars; in fact, Mars is the only known planet to be completely inhabited by robots! There are currently two rovers and one helicopter (about the size of a drone) on the surface and eight spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet. Future NASA missions include a sample-return mission, with help from the European Space Agency (ESA). The samples have already been collected by the Perseverance Rover, with the current plan to have the sample returned by the mid-2030s. The next mission by NASA, with help from other commercial and international agencies, will be to get the first humans to Mars. This mission will likely be a one-way ticket for the chosen astronauts. Would you go?   

    Check back soon for my next Monthly Night Sky Report!

   

 

    

Now get outside and look up!